The science behind the art of cooking.

Find recipes and techniques scientifically proven to work.

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Cooks Illustrated Magazine covers featuring colorful fruits and vegetables, perfect for cooks and food enthusiasts.

Six unique issues a year

Each issue is a collectible work of art.
No ads, just delightful food reading.

Featured Recipes

A close up picture of Celebratory Seafood Stew with lemon on the side

A Celebratory Seafood Stew

Appears in Cook’s Illustrated January/February 2024

Teeming with mussels, squid, shrimp, and cod,
Catalonia’s zarzuela is a quick-cooking
extravaganza of classic Spanish flavors.
SERVES 6 TO 8
TOTAL TIME 1 ¼ hours
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Weeknight Roast Chicken

No-Knead Bread

The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Order now and receive Cook’s Illustrated All-Times Best Recipes FREE (valued at $9.99).

Cook's Illustrated Best Recipes Cover with Pancakes

Recipes crafted with scientific precision

From our expert test kitchens to your table.

Lan Lam and Glazed Pork Chops

Our signature recipe development process

We put every recipe through the same rigorous process, testing and retesting every variable and then taking what we’ve learned to create a dish that’s the very best in its class.

Lan Lam with finished Ultimate Yule Log

1. The five-recipe test

First we seek out five existing recipes. We taste and assess them, noting qualities we like and any we don’t.

Lan Lam rolling Ultimate Yule Log

2. Our first draft

Next, we define goals for our version, and sketch out the most promising way to reach them.

Chef decorating Ultimate Yule Log

3. Test, taste, repeat

Over at least six weeks, we test and retest every recipe variable, learning from our mistakes so we can pass on that information to you.

Finished Ultimate Yule Log

4. Final, failproof results

At last—a recipe that works perfectly in our kitchen and has been tested and approved by thousands of home testers.

The best cooking techniques—and why they work

From deglazing to proofing, blanching to braising, get the scientific scoop.

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Get a free gift and one year of Cook’s Illustrated Magazine (6 issues) for just $9.99.

Measuring liquid layout

Question:

Why do very hot and
very cold foods need
more salt?

Answer:

Our taste buds’ saltiness receptors to the brain are most responsive when food temperature is between 85 and 95 degrees—close to the temperature inside our mouths.

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Ready to get cooking?

Get a free gift and one year of
Cook’s Illustrated Magazine
 (6 issues) for just $9.99.

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Every issue includes:

BEST RECIPES backed by science and vetted
by home cooks

NO-NONSENSE AND UP-TO-DATE REVIEWS for cookware and honest taste test results

STEP-BY-STEP PHOTOS demonstrating the right way to prepare a recipe

QUICK TIPS for everything from no-mess tomato chopping to sting-free seeding of hot peppers

NO ADS, just cooking information

Take a
look
inside

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Image: Cooks Illustrated Magazine article 'Citric Acid Makes just posse table

For the home cook who never stops learning

In-depth recipes are paired with explanations that bolster your food science knowledge to make you more confident in the kitchen.

Details that take your cooking skills to the next level

Each issue features thorough illustrations and diagrams so you can master the techniques behind the recipes.

How to Butcher Pork Butt

Removing waxy fat from the surface of the meat.

1. Remove any hard, waxy fat from the surface of the meat. Leave just a thin layer, and don’t worry about removing any interior fat at this point.

Slicing meat crosswise into slabs

2. Slice meat crosswise into slabs of the desired thickness

Cutting slabs lengthwise into strips.

3. Cut slabs lengthwise into strips of the desired thickness.

Cutting each strip crosswise into cubes.

4. Cut each strip crosswise into cubes.

The magazine cooks love to curl up with

Experience immersive storytelling and beautiful visuals that take you on a food lover’s journey.

Woman reading Cooks Illustrated

Sharpen your
culinary skills

Get a free gift and one year of
Cook’s Illustrated Magazine
(6 issues) for just $9.99.

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Shrimp Cocktail Makes a Comeback Spread in Cooks Illustrated